Improvement in safety-guards for hatchways



z. s. B.`wEEKs za c.. L. KOHLER. `|mprovement in Safety Guard for Hatc-hways Paxtented/larch5,1872".A iig-j TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.'

ZEBEDEE S. B. WEEKS AND CHARLES L. KOHLEE, NEW YORK, Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN SAFETY-GUARDS FOR HATCHWAVS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 124,301, dated March 5, 1872.

Specification describing a new and Improved Safety Hatch, invented by ZEBEDEE S. B. WEEKs and CHARLEs L. KoHLER, of the city of New York, in the county and State ot' New York.

Our invention consists of a safety-guard for hatchways so arranged and connected with the hatch door or doors that it will be automatically closed when the door opens, to guard against falling through, and to be similarly opened when the door closes, the said guard being hinged to its support and connected to the door by a guard or chain which works over guide-rollers in such manner as to allow of the said automatic openin g and closing, all as hereinafter described.

Figure l is a front elevation of the apparatus arranged according to our improvement, and Fig. 2 is a partial side elevation.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A represents posts placed in front of the liatcliway t0 support the guard B, which may bein one or tivo sections, according to whether the hatch-door G be single or double. The said guard may consist of a training of bars, jointed together in any suitable or approved way, and pivoted to the post so as to swing up and down, as indicated, the joints allowing the guards to be pivoted to the posts in two or more places; or it may consist of a parallel or ri gidl y-con structed door or gate, and be hinged to the post at one pointonly 5 but it is preferable to have it constructed in the manner shown, so that when raised up the bars will fold together-'out of the spa-ce between the posts. Each section of the guard is connected to its corresponding section of the hatch-door by a cord, D, which works over guide-rollers E F and G H in such manner that when one rises the other will fall, and vice versa, as clearly indicated in the drawing, so that whenever the hatch-door is opened the guard will fall in front ofthe open hatch and guard it while open. The guard may, however, be opened while the door is opened, if required, by lifting it up.

This simple contrivance will insure the clos ing of the guard at all times, when necessary, and thus save lives and injuries to persons liable to accidentally fall through when the guards, which have to be worked by hand, are neglected.

Having thus. described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The guards B, constructed as described, combined with hatch-doors by means ofropes D passing over pulleys E F G H, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

ZEBEDEE S. B. WEEKS. C. L. KOHLEB.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. MABEE, T. B. MosHER. 

